**#239. The Lake of Memory (4)**
—
[Move! Toward the light!]
The fox spirit darted through the air, dodging the pouring crimson-black raindrops.
As the glowing giant drew closer, it recalled an old, timeworn memory.
A memory from a distant, ancient past, passed down for generations—when the navy-blue giant, surrounded by all other races, shattered mountains and split the earth as it fought.
And thousands of spirits, united into one massive form, fought against that giant.
Yes, that was the reason.
That was why the orange tail had ordered all spirits to charge toward the giant of light.
Just like in that distant past, they had to merge their strength into one and bring down their enemy.
Nearly a thousand spirits residing on the island were pulled into the body of the light giant.
The light grew stronger, swelling.
Rapidly expanding, the light giant instantly caught up in height with the crimson-black giant that had been growing just before.
The fierce contest of strength between their fists and grips once again began to tilt in favor of the giant of light.
[This cannot be.]
Huge ancient symbols shimmered with unease around the crimson-black giant’s body.
Even as it endlessly absorbed crimson raindrops and animals, it could not keep up with the light giant’s growth.
[I said this *cannot* be.]
A blinding light transferred.
From the giant of light’s grip—
—to the crimson-black giant’s fist.
A cluster of radiant light spread like wildfire, engulfing the entire body of the crimson-black giant.
[How dare you. A puppet stripped of all emotion.]
The giant of light calmly stared at the doctor’s scattered avatar, disintegrating into crimson particles.
You call me a puppet?
[A hollow shell that hasn’t even fully regained its strength.]
You call me a shell?
No. That’s not true.
The emotions raging in my chest right now are proof of my humanity.
[Your world was a failure, but the world I will build atop it will be flawless. The failed must quietly disappear into the shadows of history.]
Doctor, do you imagine things too?
I can’t fully comprehend the meaning behind your words—
But at the very least—
The world you envision and the world I envision surely paint completely different pictures.
[Doctor—no, Redran.]
The crimson-black giant flinched.
[I will find you.]
The last thing visible was the crimson mana writhing in fear—then the entire island was engulfed in light.
And a moment later, when the light receded—
The crimson-black giant had vanished without a trace.
Standing on the evaporated lakebed, the giant of light knew its work was not yet done.
It turned its body and fixed its gaze on a crimson orb floating beyond the clouds.
Raising its hand—
*Crackle!*
An overwhelming current of electricity gathered in its hand, forming a long shape.
*Crackle! Sizzle!*
All types of light mana—including that of the spirits—flowed through the giant of light.
The multicolored mana coursed through its body like blood, traveled down its outstretched arm, and gathered in its grip, blending together.
*Crackle!*
The final color formed was a pure, immaculate white.
The giant of light swung its arm with all its strength, and the white bolt—a spear of lightning—ripped through the sky with a thunderous roar.
*CRAAAAASH───!*
The moment after the flash—
The white spear cleaved the crimson beam in half and flew onward, piercing the orb.
*Crack! Shatter!*
As the light from the white spear intensified, fractures began forming on the orb.
The two concentrations of mana exploded in a massive burst of light.
*
──────!
The thunderous roar that shook the heavens and earth forced every living creature on the surface to look up at the sky.
The dwarves hard at work building the underground city.
The animals exploring between the newly sprouting plants in the wilds.
The elves gathered around the newly discovered World Tree.
Grine, who was speaking with the dwarf elders.
Isra, observing people from the tower of Rael Row.
And Veronica, who watched the World Tree with a worried look, alone and apart.
Literally, all of them—
“L-Look at that!”
“My gods, there’s a hole in the sky…!”
“Was that always the color of the sky…?!”
Voices of shock and awe echoed everywhere.
To all races, the sky had always been seen as an infinite expanse of black clouds.
But now—
What they saw was a massive hole torn through the center of those dark clouds, revealing the *real* sky beyond.
“Amazing…! That vivid blue sky…!”
“I’ve seen a clear night sky a few times during mana storms… but seeing it in broad daylight is a first.”
“It’s beautiful. I’ve never seen that color in my life.”
A clear midday sky was so rare that one might see it only a few times in a lifetime—even for long-lived dwarves and elves.
The dwarven elders spoke in awe.
“If my instincts are right, this phenomenon must’ve been caused by that boy.”
“He climbed to the top of the World Tree this morning, remember? Ignoring all our warnings that even the Tree’s full height wouldn’t reach the island.”
“And now, the needle of the mana detector is pointing *directly* at that tiny dot in the sky. A massive mana surge just occurred there.”
“Then that boy… really made it to the island?”
Their suspicion was correct—the boy was indeed connected to the hole in the sky.
The white spear, the explosion of the orb.
And the tremendous mana storm it caused obliterated all the surrounding dark clouds.
“……”
Grine had long sensed something happening above the clouds.
Because—
[────!]
[─────!]
For over ten minutes, Pepper and Salt had been acting overly excited, gazing up at the sky.
They bounced repeatedly in their green mana forms, as if desperate to reach the island.
“Pepper, Salt, you’re not strong enough to fly yet. And the life stone that supplies you mana is in Sir Ray’s possession. Please calm down for now.”
She tried to soothe them, but the two spirits showed no sign of calming.
Giving up, Grine quietly raised her head to gaze at the island.
“What in the world could be up there… that’s making you all so emotionally overwhelmed?”
Grine, too, could hardly contain her emotions.
A fierce curiosity and wonder stirred strongly in her chest.
And at that moment, another girl was looking up at the sky.
‘Ray…’
Her large red eyes trembled with worry and unease.
As soon as the blast sounded, Veronica had jumped up from the bus entrance stairs and rushed outside.
Should she have followed him after all?
She had absolute faith in the boy—but whenever he was out of sight, anxiety always crept in.
Because she knew his personality.
For the sake of his goal, he wouldn’t hesitate to face any danger.
‘What did you say before leaving? That it’s fine if you fall while climbing the World Tree because I’ll heal you, so it’s okay, right?’
Veronica snorted.
Sorry, Ray!
If you fell from that height, even the grandpa of the so-called almighty god couldn’t save you!
Suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, the girl punched the air.
Then, she caught sight of a glowing dot floating higher than the island.
It was the sun.
But for some reason—
The source and beginning of all light, the sun, seemed hazy and dim.
“……”
Like in a trance, the girl stared up at the sun.
A white sun nestled in her chest was shining brightly.
*
Immediately after the crimson orb was destroyed, spirits poured out from the body of the giant of light.
Returning to their physical forms, they sprawled around the lakebed, groaning in exhaustion.
[So tired…!]
[I’m dying…! The brave and cute spirit is dying…!]
[Completely drained of power…!]
While the spirits were groaning, the giant of light gradually shrank in size.
Eventually, as the light faded, Ray emerged.
“……”
With calm eyes, the boy focused on every sensation around him.
The landscape he could see.
The smells he could smell.
The sounds reaching his ears.
The sensations touching his skin.
All his senses were vivid—
And his mind was clearer than ever.
‘After handling such an absurd amount of mana, I should’ve collapsed from exhaustion.’
At the very least, he should have been unconscious for nearly ten days straight.
The reason he was still fine was thanks to the exceptionally high quality of the jewels and spirit mana.
And the exhilaration played a part too.
The thrill of executing the magic he had imagined to the fullest—
That burning emotion kept fueling his thoughts and movements.
‘The blue horn and the fox cubs…’
Thanks to the spirits’ efforts, they appeared unharmed.
To recognize their efforts, Ray offered them a warm comment.
[You’re all worn out this easily? The spirits here aren’t much after all.]
[Did you just say spirits aren’t much?!]
[What did you just say!?]
At that moment, hundreds of mana orbs forged from the two jewels were scattered around.
[Mine! Move it!]
[First one to bite it gets it!]
Ray walked through the scrambling spirits and approached Blue.
‘The core’s cracks have deepened since before.’
As Ray examined Blue’s condition, Philip approached and said,
“Grr… Ray, do you recall the treatment method for the core?”
“……”
Ray took the orb of mana from Philip’s mouth and tossed it far away.
Then he grabbed the back of Philip’s neck and raised him to eye level.
“My mana! I wrestled that out of a leopard and wolf’s jaws! And you just—? Hmm? Fine. Could you maybe turn up the output a bit more?”
Though initially protesting, Philip soon sensed the jewel’s mana flowing into his body and looked satisfied.
“Grr, but Ray. Did you find the memory of the core’s treatment in the lake?”
Ray looked at the dried-up lakebed, now a vast crater, and said,
“I did—but I can’t recall it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I absorbed *too many* memories at once. I’m sure the treatment method is among them, but right now, the information in my head is too jumbled.”
“Grr! But the blue horn needs treatment quickly…”
“That’s all right. There’s another way.”
After setting Philip down, Ray walked toward the lake. Philip hurried after him and asked,
“With that other method… will you be able to heal the damaged core?”
“No. I’m not going to heal Blue’s core. I’m going to let it shatter.”
“Grrng? What do you mean…?”
*Tap.*
Ray stopped walking and stared at an object in the center of the lakebed.
“Grrng! A stone tablet! The one you were looking for, Lord Ray!”
Ray quietly nodded.
Tens of thousands of memories had dissolved into the water of the lake.
All those memories had been absorbed into the boy’s mind, but they remained unorganized, tangled into chaos.
Yet, there was one memory that stood out so vividly, it couldn’t be missed even if he tried.
…What the woman in the violet robe inscribed on the stone tablet before lifting the island into the sky.
The boy’s lips parted.
“I’m going to make a new core for Blue.”
The woman had called that an act of creation.
